German and English share common roots, but there are tons of false cognates you’ll need to sidestep if you want to avoid embarrassment. Here are 12 of the most amusing (and kinda NSFW) German false friends.

Learn the different ways to say “hello” in the German language. You’ll fit right in regardless of where you are in the country, and you’ll master the meaning of the little two-letter salutatory conundrum “na.”